"Microsoft's Build developers conference in San Francisco has mainly focused on Windows 8.1 so far, but the company spent a few minutes talking about the future Xbox One development platform on Thursday. Steve Guggenheimer, vice president of Microsoft's Developer & Platform Evangelism group, provided big hints at how developers can target the Xbox One in future." Many Windows 8 Metro applications would work relatively well with Kinect gestures and such - so this makes sense to me. Still don't want a 'media entertainment experience device' though; I want a game console.

If history is any judge, lots of people are willing to pay $399 and higher for game consoles (just look at what people are willing to pay for bundles, and day one units on ebay). I am not planning on it (arthritis keeps me from being a gamer anymore), and you aren't (for whatever reason), but let us not deny the market

While I have heard lots of wailing and gnashing of teeth about aspects of the XBox One, none of them I know personally were from people who have owned a console in the last few years, or were XBox users — ie lots of Sturm und Drang, but none of it from people who were likely to buy anyway.

I think there is every indication that Microsoft is going to have a very good launch with the XBox One. And the price will come down, and while some will continue to protest certain features and aspects of the console, the odds are that most people won't really remember this stuff six months from now.